Inuyasha: Thoughts
by mkh2
Summary: A series of one-shots dedicated to our favorite traditional Inuyasha couple, Inuyasha and Kagome, as well as the rest of the gang. Humorous one-shots (mostly Miroku-centric) further ahead.
1. Fevered Murmurings

"Fevered Murmurings"

~

an Inuyasha fanfiction

by

mkh2

~

Note:  This is just a repost… yes, I did decide to move it to "Inuyasha: Thoughts." It's not very angsty nor very romantic; however, it does (hopefully) provide some food for thought. It was up since around September the 9th, I think.

~

Insert standard disclaimer here – right now I'm too tired to think, and if I try any harder my brains will start to ooze out of my ears… (Tippy: eww… lovely imagery there. mkh2: thank you! Tippy: ::sweatdrops:: I was being _sarcastic_.) Anyways, everybody knows that Inuyasha-tachi belongs to Rumiko Takahashi… what more needs to be said?

~

I had this on a disk for a while – pretty much forgot about it – and after getting rather shaken up today (about what, I'd rather not say) I decided to post this (after about of editing. It seems I wasn't really paying attention to my fingering when I first typed this up. Otherwise, this is your basic copy and paste (did it in WordPad – ech! What was I thinking?) Hope you like.

Oh, and one more thing, though this takes place after no specific date in the timeline, it just is supposed to occur after getting their little gang together (even meeting Kouga – I like him, he looks like Ryouga, ne? [I dig guys with fangs! . ::blush::]) and probably (preferably ^-^) after an encounter with Kikyo… or possibly right after meeting that one half-demon, Jinenji (remember him?, poor thing…)

~

" " – indicates speech

' ' – indicates thought

~

It had been a long day of traveling. Inuyasha had finally relented to Kagome's pleas and found a good place to stop for the night. As much as he hated to admit, the slight flush and faint sheen of sweat on her forehead had worried him. Naturally, he had to put on a big show before "giving in" to her demands. They had eaten dinner in silence (ramen, naturally) and went to their respective resting spots, Inuyasha leaping into a tree branch with a great "feh!" after watching Kagome wriggle into her (very comfortable and rather roomy looking, Inuyasha duly noted) sleeping bag. When Inuyasha observed Kagome's breathing even off, suggesting she was finally asleep, he skirted the surrounding area (you never know when you're going to be attacked) before bounding down to the nearby stream.

"Hmm…" mused Inuyasha. Sometimes – not often, naturally, after all, he's a demon and not a sentimental type of person (okay, half-demon, but still!) – sometimes it was nice to sit and look at the stars and the moon and the water and just sit and ponder, you know, just ponder… ponderous ponders? Inuyasha shook his head – somehow, that sounded so stupid – something like that silly wench who insisted on taking many breaks and helping others and other stupid stuff would think or say. He snorted and got down on his haunches. 'Hope she isn't sick…'

~

'It's so hot!' Kagome sat up and, bleary-eyed, looked around the camp. She unzipped her bag and rolled out, getting it tangled around her feet. 'It's still hot.' She tilted her head back and blinked confusedly at the half-moon overhead. "Eto… it's very, very hot!" Glancing up at tree branch she had seen Inuyasha leap into, she saw that her favorite hanyou was missing. 'Wonder where he is.' After some moments she decided looking for him was a good idea and standing up, strained all her senses for any sight or sound or aura around so she could think of a good direction to head in.

'_The sound of… rushing water… or at least _trickling_ water…_' Kagome wobbled around to an about face. 'I think I'll go… that a-way.' Stoically, she trudged off to where she recalled the stream to be. 'Heh, even if he's not there, it would be nice to cool off a bit.'

"Inuyasha…" Kagome murmured as she peered from around the tree. 

Inuyasha's only response was to twitch his ears, alerting her that, yes, he heard her.

She slowly waddled down the grassy knoll to him and crouched down on the bank a few feet away from him. Wow, it was so hot… Perhaps she should put her feet in the water to cool off?

"Inuyasha…" Kagome murmured again, smiling dazedly, though somewhat blankly out at the rippling water. "What do you think should be done with the Shikon no Tama once this is all over? I know… I know you said you would become a demon but, but didn't you say you'd become a human for Kikyo? And if you did become a demon, wouldn't it be a waste of a perfectly good wish – I mean, you did say something about 'descending to the depths of Hades' to be with Kikyo, didn't you? You wouldn't get a chance to enjoy your powers, eh?" 

Inuyasha turned to look at her wondering what could possess her to talk like that. A slight breeze blew her scent to him, lightly tickling his nose. Funny, there seemed to be a hint of illness – was she sick? Maybe this is why she spoke so frankly, a touch of delirium loosened her tongue, lowered her inhibitions. 

"If Kikyo did take you to Hell, did you realize that, naturally, I would be doomed to Hell also? Kikyo still has some of my soul, after all, and damning her to Hell is the same as damning me to Hell. Why she's so determined to drag you down – you don't owe her anything; in fact, she owes you! Even when you thought she betrayed you, you never attacked her!" Her murmurings took on a hissing-like quality, her vehemence showing in the intonation more than in the pitch. "She attacked you, condemned you to death, or at least her version of an eternal sleep, but you never raised a finger to her. Even before, when you would attack, Kaede said you never raised a claw to hurt or kill any human. When you attacked the village, your aim was never to hurt anyone; you would have simply taken the jewel and left. You – it seems to me that you were already more human than Kikyo ever was.

"Am I even her reincarnation? I wonder at it." Her voice had calmed down, same pitch and tone as prior, not that the pitch ever went any higher. "Her memories have been sealed into her very bones and flesh and could not be erased even after burned – if your whole physical life could be uncovered by studying one's bones, as it is often found to be true in my time, then why not even memories? Emotions? Thoughts? Could it have been that all the taking of my soul had done was to really just jumpstart or reboot a machine that was already programmed for your downfall? Could it be that all I was, was just a battery?"

Inuyasha scrunched up his nose – eh… future terms are hard to get your head around. However, he did understand what she meant… and the idea intrigued him…

"Sometimes I wonder what should be done with the Shikon no Tama. You did say that you would take it and turn into a demon, though your thoughts seem to be conflicted at the prospect of being a human. I like you as you are, and if you did decided to remain a hanyou, what then? Should we use the jewel to save Kohaku? Do we wish for happiness? What is a pure wish, a pure wish that could erase the jewel from this earth, right out of existence? When I fuse it, will it simply go back in me? Will I continue to be able to go back and forth through the well? Will I simply find myself back in my original time, no choice given me? Will I remember this when all is said and done? Don't I _need_ the jewel to travel between times? Would burrowing the jewel into the well enable me to continue time-hopping forever? What is best for us all? What _needs_ to be done? I don't know. I want someone to tell me."

She tapered off and looked at the moon for a little while, her eyes glazed over. Inuyasha bit his lip; it looked, and smelled, like her fever was getting worse. She should go to bed, but… she wanted, needed to get this out – and he wanted and needed to hear it too.

"Inuyasha, I want you to know that, that, that whatever you decide I will support you… my feelings for you will not change. My feelings for you as a hanyou are the same for you as when you are a human or when you are youkai. No, let me restate that: I think my heart beats for you more firmly, more desperately; as a human, I fear for your life; as a youkai, I fear for your soul."

Kagome turned to look at him, a delicate flush over her cheeks and nose, lips somehow redder from the gentle nibbling she was wont to do when nervous.

"The only thing I worry about in the end is your soul – even if your life is forfeit, even if my life is forfeit – our souls are what is the most important part of us. I just want you to be safe and happy – I don't want you to die, I don't want you to go to hell, and I don't want you to change, because I love you the way you are… and I always will. I just hope that whatever happens with the Shikon no Tama – that you will remain you."

She grinned slightly. "Hey, didn't you say you'd protect me? How could you, if you lost your mind?"

The whole time she was speaking her voice was a low, soft murmur, sometimes dropping to the faintest of whispers, feathering gently over his ears. He swallowed hard. Now it was his turn to talk, right? He was a man, and as a man he should be more than capable of reassuring her against her fears. Clearing his throat, he turned to her, only to hurtle himself forward to catch as she swooned and almost fell head first into the stream.

'Baka girl,' he thought. 'When will she learn?'

~

Inuyasha stretched and hopped down from his perch. He had wanted to talk to Kagome since she had flopped over on the bank, finally passing out from her fever and lack of sleep. He walked over to her and poked her. 

"Hey, hey Kagome." He blinked his eyes. 'No response, eh?' He poked her in the shoulder, leaning over her when *whap!*

"Gah! What was that for, wench?!" Inuyasha rubbed his red cheek.

Kagome yawned and stretched before blinking her eyes and turning to Inuyasha.

"Oh, sorry! Hit you again, did I?" Laughing slightly, Kagome got out of her sleeping bag and bounced over to her backpack. "Ramen for breakfast? Chicken or beef? Maybe both?" She rummaged through it, pulling out the small cups. "What do you think, Inuyasha?"

He blinked. "Chicken."

"Naturally. Could you get the wood for me?" She waved her hand breezily in the general direction of the pile of sticks they had gathered the night before. 

Blankly, he picked them up and arranged them in the usual fashion before recalling what he had hopped down for in the first place.

"Eh, Kagome, about last night…" Inuyasha wrinkled up his nose, not sure how to begin.

Kagome looked up at him in surprise. "What? Did something happen last night?"

He face faulted. "What do you mean, 'Did something happen last night?' Don't you remember?"

"No. Was it important?"

He sighed and looked at her. "Not anything you need to worry about."

He sat and watched Kagome as she stoked up the fire and heated the water.

"Heh, I had a wonderful dream last night! There was this huge pot of oden, big as a swimming pool! I even swum in it, eating up the delicious oden, oden, oden –"

Inuyasha nodded his head at Kagome's ramblings, content to just listen to her voice as he stared into the low flames.

'It doesn't matter that you don't remember, or that we can't continue our talk – I already said I was going to protect you, if you let me, and in the end, that's all that really matters.'

~Owari~

And now time for Mikki! Whee! I spin around in circles! Lookit Mikki go! I spin faster and faster and – oomph! Hey! Who put that wall there?

Hee, just a note for any newbies (I should start putting the words in each one, ne?)… _baka_ means _stupid_, or well… some other meanings aren't so nice, though it could also mean _silly_.

You can go now. The story is over. Go on. Shoo. … What are you still doing here. Leave already (but please leave a review or something… if you feel like it and have the time. ::insert standard cheesy grin here::)


	2. That soft look

That soft look

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an Inuyasha fanfiction

by

mkh2

~

Here's something I wrote when I was _supposed_ to be writing the next chapter of "Thunk!" and "Hey! What's with the growling?" Obviously, I got a little side-tracked. I've updated "Hey! What's with the growling?" and am going to add a rather… _strange_ little blurb to my other Inuyasha story. I might add "Fevered Murmurings" to this series of one shots, making it like a different type of "Inuyasha and the Drive-Thru of Doom.". Hope you enjoy.

~

Also, a shout-out to StoicStella, whose story, Unexpected Love, is definitely one of the better Sesshomaru/Kagome romances. So far it is tastefully written – thank the Lord she doesn't rush the romance… it takes a while for a person to fall in love usually, after all. So when you're done with this, or whatever you prefer, go read it. It's good! Scout's honor. (Tippy: Pshaw! Since when were you a scout?  mkh2: shut up!)

~

Disclaimer: Tippy: Mikki is sleeping so I'm going to say this instead: Inuyasha, Incorporated, or whatever, doesn't belong to her. It belongs to that other person – look it up if you wanna know who she is cause I can't pronounce it. If you sue Mikki, I won't have anybody left to drive me around and buy me lots of goodie for no reason other than she's my older sister. Thanks. ::leaves room:: ::pops head back in:: Oh, yeah, '_shampoo and conditionaah* to yooouu._' ::leaves room again::

~

The fallen autumn leaves crunched under her feet, turning into dust that was blown away by the wind. The shrill of the last songbirds of the season warbled listlessly and hung in the air around her. The cool crisp air of the season brought a chill to her skin, her arms and legs, as always, exposed, and a flush to her cheeks. She noticed none of these things but marched, no, glided steadfastly down the familiar path to the well, and on the other side of that ubiquitous time portal, her home in the future.

'Inuyasha.' The thought rose in her mind and her eyes shone with tears, ready to spill over the edge at any moment.

~

She had come today for a visit, only for a few hours since she had a big test at school tomorrow, but feeling prepared she felt it was reasonable that, as long as she looked over her notes quickly at night before bed and once again in the morning, she would have nothing to worry about. Despite the fact that she was constantly in the Sengoku Jidai she had come to love spending her spare time there, the activities of her home in her era seemed lacking in appeal.

She had packed nothing, only a small lunch that she thought she could share with Inuyasha and a lollipop for Shippou, who was very fond of the sugary treats. She smiled and almost giggled at the first time she had brought one the size of Shippou's head, how his eyes had widened and he seemed to be in some sort of Lollipop Nirvana. The look of delight and happily babbled 'thank you's were well worth the sugar rush he had afterwards.

Suddenly she thought she heard something off to her side and walked that way, disregarding Inuyasha's advice that she stay on the path because she never knew what demon could be waiting in wood, hoping to get a bite out a mortal, even if it was a miko. She recalled rolling her eyes as he recounted that it was considered a real treat among the man-eating youkai because of the purity of miko blood, same as with the blood of children. She burst his bubble when she told him how in her time a miko was simply a virgin girl who worked the shrine grounds, not a girl with spiritual powers.

"Inuyasha," a girl's voice, breathlessly saying _his_ name, was heard on the wind, wafting gently on her ears. It seemed to burn them. 

Kagome froze, unsure whether she should go on then, swallowing tightly, she slowly inched forward to peer out from behind the dense brush and trees.

Inuyasha stood on end of a clearing and Kikyo was at the other, her bow, for once, not drawn, but hanging limply at her side. The thing that truly disturbed Kagome, though, was that soft look in his eyes.

She was beginning to hate that look.

That was the look he had that time, before Kikyo was resurrected, before they went after Kikyo's stolen ashes. She had talked to him, tried to convince him to come with her, with them, to retrieve the ashes, and put it back to peace. Then she had felt furious, he wouldn't look at her, did he hate her? For looking like Kikyo, did he hate her? And suddenly he grabbed her hands and…

That wasn't the only time. There were others, many, and she came to associate that look with Kikyo's memory, with any thought of Kikyo that passed through Inuyasha's mind. If only he would look like that at her and think only of Kagome! Kagome bit her lip lightly; it seemed so selfish but she wanted that so badly.

"Kikyo."

He had a soft smile on his lips, so gentle; he rarely smiled, Kagome knew that, and felt privileged in knowing that she had seemed almost every one of them. There were times, she knew, when he would smile in secret, naturally she wouldn't see them then, but she knew that many of these special, _sacred_ smiles were bestowed on her. Now she felt certain that Inuyasha had given just as many to Kikyo. She faltered. What if she wasn't the one to have received the most? What if, when he smiled at her, he was really smiling at _her, at _Kikyo_?_

Kikyo, in the clearing nodded slightly and took a step forward; likewise, Inuyasha also stepped closer.

Holding in a sob that had mysteriously crept up into her throat, Kagome turned on her heel and glided silently away, her feet skimming but not crushing the dry, golden autumn leaves under her feet.

~

Now that she was further away it didn't matter to her that her steps were no longer so quiet; they now fell more heavily, pressing and crushing, crunching the leaves into beautiful red and gold dust. Belatedly she noticed that somewhere along the way she had lost her small lunch but decided against turning back. If Inuyasha found it, he could consider it a last gift from her and consume it as his enormous appetite was wont to do. She was tired of always being forgotten – she realized that Kikyo's presence had distracted Inuyasha from noticing hers and that was why he hadn't come to greet her, in his usual rough way, when she had come.

She had said, no she had asked to be allowed to stay by Inuyasha's side and he had given his consent. Now she wasn't so sure she wanted to stay anymore.

Kneeling by the well, she pulled off her necklace that held the Shikon no Tama shards and then pulled out a deep green handkerchief, just a bit darker than her skirt but close enough to be matching and wrapped the necklace in it. She dug a small burrow by the side of the well and pressed the small bundle into it but not burying it, knowing that with Inuyasha's sense of smell he'll be able to quickly find and retrieve the kerchief with the shards. Surely he'd get the message. 

She stood up and silently sent him a prayer to be well and take care of his Kikyo.

~

She lay on her bed for hours, staring at the ceiling, trying not to think of the past and finally, tiredly closed her eyes, ready to give into sleep when she heard a soft scratch at her window. Her heart leapt into her throat – it couldn't be, could he? No. He couldn't possibly that stupid.

"Kagome?" a soft, husky voice called from just the other side of her window. 

Yes, he could be.

She drew her eyebrows together, reluctant to open her eyes and see the silver dog boy on the other side. '_Dog man,' she conceded. He wasn't really a boy, certainly not like the ones in her time. He was a man. Then why did he have to act so childishly and expect her to go along with whatever he said like a child would?_

"Kagome?" he called again.

"Yes?" she gave in, too tired to feign sleep any longer. Long ago she learned that he always knew when she was awake or asleep, and it was pointless to pretend otherwise.

"Open the window."

She frowned. He knew the window was open. It was always open – she never locked it, never since she met him, which unfortunately caused several embarrassing incidents that resulted with Kagome forever after changing in and out of her clothes in the bathroom.

"Open it yourself," she retorted, her voice at a monotone level.

There was a sigh outside and she heard the window slide to the side and then slide back closed after the soft fall of feet were heard on her floor.

"Why did you leave?"

Ah, so he had noticed she had been there earlier that day, if not from the time she had gone there then surely from the evidence of the lunch and the jewel.

She kept silent.

There was another sigh and her bed sagged down by her knees with a suspicious weight.

"You left… your lunch."

Silence.

"I think it's still good, it doesn't smell like there's anything in the basket that will spoil." 

That was a surprise, considering his voracious appetite. Still, she gave no response.

There was a soft whoosh on her bed, the weight of the basket wrinkling the sheets under it and tugging lightly at her skin.

"You also left the Shikon no Tama."

She stiffened slightly though imperceptibly, to a human though not to Inuyasha. She let her sense reach out. She was concentrating so hard on forgetting she had overlooked the familiar glow and aura of the sacred jewel.

"Why did you leave?" Ah, back to that question again.

She was almost eager to fall back on the old standby that woman have used for centuries – "If you don't know, I'm not telling" – but she had always thought that was cruel and had always tried hard not to use it if necessary.

"You should know," she said tiredly, the strain of the words noticeable to their ears.

Inuyasha's ears swiveled over to her.

"Yes… and no."

She frowned slightly. '_Then why are you here?' She wanted to scream this at him, pulling his ears right off his head if necessary but she didn't._

"You saw Kikyo." Which of them said this, Kagome wasn't sure, but it was said and she turned her head to her side, away from him.

She heard rather than felt the basket lunch be placed on the floor and suddenly felt Inuyasha's weight spread out next to her. He was lying next to _her_. She suddenly felt nervous and rolled on her side towards the wall and away from him. He only rolled after her and put his arm around her waist, pulling her to her chest.

She was livid. Her eyes snapped open and she struggled to get out of his grip. He rolled over so that Kagome was under him, belly down on her bed.

"Get – off – me!" she hissed, a growl rising out of her throat, hackles raised, eyes blazing. "Get– Off!"

"No." His voiced rang calmly in her ear. "Not until you tell me why you left."

Blinking at this she sagged tiredly under him.

"I'm… tired."

"Of me?"

"Yes – and no."

"Why?"

"I'm tired of always being second best."

There was a sigh, a breath falling tiredly over her neck. 

"Why do you think you're second best?" Inuyasha's voice suddenly took on the quality of that of a tired old man. 

"Kikyo."

Ah, that should explain all, shouldn't it? All her fear, all her worries, all her doubts and anxieties summed up in that one simple, _loathsome_ word. _Kikyo_.

Inuyasha's head drooped onto her shoulder.

"What makes you think you are second best to her?" Inuyasha asked.

Kagome blinked, tears rising. "Wasn't I always? Even you yourself always said that Kikyo was better, Kikyo – more beautiful, Kikyo – stronger, perfect, the best." She choked on the last words, half-hiccoughing with the strain to keep in her dry sobs.

"Don't cry." The words took on the soft quality it always took when he had that look in his eye, the look that was always directed to Kikyo, the gentle look that Kagome always hungered for, to have it directed to her.

Suddenly a large hand passed through her hair. It gently smoothed it out, over and over again it slid through the smooth strands.

"I hate it when you cry."

"But then why do you always make me cry?" she rasped out, finally breaking down in silent tears.

"Kagome," he murmured her name softly and turned her onto her back, still under him. "I'm sorry – I don't want to hurt you. Please, come back."

"I can't – I can't go back," she sobbed, eyes shut tight as the tears ran down her face. She couldn't bare to look at him when he had that look on his face that he was really directing to Kikyo.

Something soft brushed over her lips so swiftly that she thought she imagined it, except for how her lips burned after. She opened her eyes slowly to find him looking down at her, a sad look.

"You'll leave me then?" his voice quavered and suddenly she couldn't help but notice how he looked like a lost puppy.

"How can you expect me to go on forever with Kikyo there? I want to be with you… but I need to have somewhere to go to when this is over; it's killing me to always see you with Kikyo. Being by your side isn't simply enough for me anymore. I need more, I _want more." She closed her eyes again and went limp in his hold._

His weight settled over hers and she let out a gasp, her eyes flying open. '_Heavy_.'

"Did you know that Kikyo and I had come to an agreement this evening? I was going to tell you when I got back, but it turns out you already had."

What was he saying? She knew they had come to an agreement long before – he would protect her and when this was all over he would go to… she didn't want to think about it.

When she hadn't said anything for a while he continued.

"I have still offered her protection, but she is only second to you and the others. When this is over, we will purify the jewel and she will allow her soul to be put to peace, but she will go alone. I will stay… with you."

Kagome stiffened under him, hardly believing her ears. Is he saying…?

Inuyasha noticed how she had completely stilled and the sudden shift in her scent, but his nose was so befuddled form being so completely enveloped in her scent that he wasn't sure what it meant. Hurriedly he tried to placate her, whatever it took.

"…If you want me."

Kagome looked up at him. Soft golden eyes, that soft look that was beginning to shimmer with nervous tears, directed at her. How many times were those looks directed at her and she thought they were directed at Kikyo? She didn't know and didn't care to ask. She raised a hand and put it behind his neck, gently tugging him down to lightly kiss his lips. They stayed that way for a moment before she pulled back, Inuyasha looking like he was in a daze.

"Yes."

~Owari~

Ack- I wrote this in around an hour and forty-five minutes to two hours… instead of writing my other Inu story. Don't be mad! I just had to get this out. And that's that. Ciao.

In accordance with new FF.net regulations:

Not upcoming chapters for this and my other stories as well as upcoming fic

Note: I have switched the placement of 'That soft look' and 'Fevered Murmurings' back to the original placement of the fics when originally posted. I have another one-shot to be place here soon.  
  
Do not worry fans of "Hey! What's with the growling?" and "Inuyasha's Trip through the Drive Thru". I have more pieces coming up for the both of them (I like my piece with the hammock. that's all I'm saying.) If you're into DBZ, check out some of my other fics - or at least "AntiFreeze!" if you enjoy my Mikki character.  
  
To keep you happy, I'll tell you now that I'm putting up another Inuyasha fic either today or tomorrow - another one similar to my "Thoughts" style - a bit of romance and stuff. I know I was supposed to be working on my other fics but hey, when the muse bites you in the butt, either bite it back or let it have it's way and do as it says.  
  
That's all I can think of to say now so bye!


	3. Needed to Go

Needed to Go, Wanted to Stay

Original version

~

an Inuyasha fanfiction

by

mkh2

~

Sad to say, my efforts to obtain and possess Inuyasha have been futile; therefore, I still do not own the puppy with the cute ears. (Whee! Lookit 'em twitch!) That honor goes to the creator, Rumiko Takahashi, long may her inkwell overflow with ideas.

~

This piece was inspired when, watching the second Inuyasha movie, Inuyasha and Kagome were fighting (as usual) and this little line came up.

Inuyasha: I'll let you come back whenever you want once we've collected [the shikon shards]

Kagome: You say that, but you can't do anything without me.

I was suddenly struck by his words – go back to her time after the shards are collected? Is he implying, somehow, that he expects her to stay (or at least hang out) in the Sengoku Jidai after all shards are collected (and, supposedly, Naraku defeated)? Seriously, since he has no real claim to her (hello, dead ex-girlfriend issues?) he has no right to expect her to come back once that responsibility is done.

~

            To say that defeating Naraku was a struggle was hardly an exaggeration. In fact, in Inuyasha's opinion, it was an outright understatement. Relaxing in his tree near the tiny river he thought about all the injuries.

Miroku was still recovering, though thankfully without any fear of death by Kazaana; Sango, whose injuries were mostly trivial, had been knocked out by her own weapon (returned full force multiplied tenfold), had only just regained consciousness; Kaede had received yet another bad slice on her body; and even Shippou and Myouga were nursing their own various wounds. Kagome, also somewhat battered, though mostly the wounds were superficial, still looked windswept, and Inuyasha couldn't help smiling as recalled to mind the sight of her wobbling over to the remains of the soiled baboon pelt to pick up Naraku's shards (who, just recently, acquired Kouga's shards, leaving the wolf youkai out of commission and unable to "attend Naraku's farewell party" as Kagome put it.) Inuyasha was struck by how much she looked like a stand-in for the Bride of Frankenstein but made no mention of it, knowing as how Kagome's ire often flared up when she heard that phrase since "it was the _doctor_ who was Frankenstein and not the _monster_ – stupid Hollywood." He tried hard not to laugh, his ribs were still sore from being slammed repeatedly into the rockiest, hardest and sharpest side of the nearest available mountain repeatedly.

            "Inuyasha?" a voice drifted up to him where he perched and, suppressing a soft smile, looked down to the person below him. Kagome. _His_ Kagome. Now that the shards and Naraku were out of the way, and once he dealt with Kikyo, he felt free to focus solely on the girl and his ever-growing feelings for her. He had loved her for a long time and now he was ready to confess, though he kinda wished he had had the guts to have made mention of it even as far back as the fight with those idiot Thunder Brothers. 

            "Feh." Inuyasha dropped light from the tree next to the slender girl, willing the strange flipping off his stomach to stop as he tried to figure out how to go from here… that is, after whatever Kagome came to him to talk about was out of the way. He had often sat thinking of how to convince her to stay after their mission was complete and yet, even as he looked at her, he had no idea.

            "Let's go for a walk," Kagome smiled gently at him and turning, started slowly down the path. Sticking his hands in his sleeves, Inuyasha trailed after her, wondering what she wanted to say since he knew she _really_ meant, "let's talk."

            Soon enough they found themselves under the shade of the Goshinboku, its protective branches bringing them welcomed relief from the hot summer sun. She reached up and lightly touched the spot where he was anchored to, kissing the bare tree. For some reason, Inuyasha blushed.

            "I'm going to miss this."

            Inuyasha blinked and looked sharply at her. "What?"

            Smiling, Kagome turned to stare him in the eyes. "I'm going to miss this place, this time, this… everything. I'll miss you." Fiddling with her necklace she pulled it off and, taking both his hands in hers, she placed it in his palm, Shikon no Tama and all, and closed his hands around it. "Wish to be a youkai or wish to be a human. Wish to forget or wish to remember. Wish for love or wish for nothing at all. Wish for Kikyo, even. Whatever you wish for, may you find happiness." She sat on the gnarled roots of the Goshiboku and let out a sigh.

            "What do you mean? What are you talking about? The Shikon no Tama is yours… just, don't leave." Inuyasha sank to his knees at her feet, dropping the sacred jewel into her lap. "You can't just leave."

            "You don't understand, do you? I've been gone for so long." Kagome leaned her head back against the tree. "I've been _dead_ for so long."

            "What in the world— Kagome, you don't make any sense. You're still alive. Is something wrong?" Inuyasha grabbed hold of her hands. They were warm, not cold, like _hers_.

            "You're wrong, Inuyasha. You still don't understand. I've been dead for a long, long time. I don't know how much longer I can go on."

            "No, you're lying! You're not dead! Kikyo—" he stopped. He hadn't said her name since having defeated Naraku, since having completed the Shikon no Tama, and not for some time before that. It felt almost strange, saying her name. And somehow, he felt as if he had done something wrong by saying her name.

            Kagome fixed him with a stare. There was no anger or sadness or pity or remorse in that look, just a look of calmness and peace.

            "I've been dead, Inuyasha, ever since that day you said her name and ripped my soul from my body."

            Inuyasha froze. She couldn't be talking about that day… that day when Kikyo's ashes were made into a sham body by the cursed Onibaba Urasue, could she? She was. He knew she was and it weighed heavily on his heart, how her body had spasmed and lurched and she was as dead for all that time, and, when her soul was returned to her body he left to go after Kikyo instead of checking on her. He felt guilty afterwards, but he felt that he needed to put Kikyo to rest and for them all to have closure. It hadn't happened.

            Kagome seemed to know what he was thinking and a strange smile, disconnected from any emotions seemingly, floated eerily on her lips.

            "I was dead Inuyasha. I am dead. I just came back for you because I couldn't stand knowing that you were being hurt. My body is to me what Kikyo's body of clay is to her – merely a vessel to allow me to accomplish my mission."

            "No!" Inuyasha grabbed her by the shoulders, giving her a hard shake. "Stop it! Stop lying! Your body isn't like hers, it's warm and feeling and…" he broke off and unthinkingly pressed his lips to hers, willing her to respond. Nothing. "Please… I never felt for her what I felt for you. She never made me feel the things I feel when I'm with you. You can't be dead, not when…" 'Not when I was going to finally confess.'

            The smile saddened and her hand touched his cheek. He leaned into it hungrily, disbelieving the situation, not wanting to hear her words. He wouldn't let her go, he couldn't.

            "I'm sorry Inuyasha, I wish I could have told you sooner… I love you and will always be with you." Kagome's arms encircled his head and pulled him to her, Inuyasha burying his head into her neck.

            "You're not dead, you're not dead, you're alive, you're warm and breathing, your heart's beating, you're going to stay with me, like you said you would," Inuyasha began to ramble, clinging to her. Maybe if he kept saying it she would believe it too and everything would be all right.

            "Sorry Inuyasha… so sorry."

            "But I—" 'But I love you!' His cry was strangled in his throat, as he pulled her body flush to his. He held tightly to her body… he was shaking, but didn't pay any attention, didn't realize it, all senses trained on the girl in his arms, the girl he had so long loved, so longed to make his mate, the one he had protected, the one he had hurt, the one who saved him.

            Gentle lips pressed against his forehead. "It's okay, Inuyasha, I understand. That's why I'm sorry." She caressed his ears, first one, then the other, soothing him, before drawing herself to her feet. "I'm dead and I can't change that."

            "But what about… the Shikon no Tama…" 'What about _us?_'

            "Don't Inuyasha… I don't want any selfish wish made on my part."

            Scrambling to his feet, he opened his mouth to object then bit his lip. Lowering his head he nodded. 

            "What would you have me do?"

            "Hold me?"

            Inuyasha pulled her into his arms.

            "What about the tama?"

            "It's yours."

            "I don't want it anymore…" 'I want you. Let me be selfish!' his mind screamed.

            "The jewel needs to be dealt with. I'd suggest burning it with my body, but you know how that turned out the last time it was tried…" Kagome smiled weakly and closed her eyes. "Be happy, Inuyasha, even if it's with someone else." _Goodbye…_

            And as she faded away, he sank to his knees and wept bitterly – if only he had told her how he felt… if only…

            ~Owari~

Original ending. Hope you like.

~

Gah! I had taken the happy version and edited via my (poorly scribbled) notes and no sooner do I trash my notes and go to save than the stupid computer shuts down Microsoft Word claiming that there was something wrong when there wasn't and refusing to do a recovery! Stupid computer… grr…

Anyways, I'm posting this first. If anyone wants the happy version up, let me know and I'll post. I like how it turned out, and ::drumroll please:: it's the first time I ever wrote in Sesshoumaru and Kikyo. Big first for me… 

~

Update:

Obviously, there seems to be some discord (after all these months!) about my sad ending for this one-shot. And, obviously, the complaints are coming from people who hadn't thought to check my profile for the happy ending. Perhaps the most memorable complaint was the one that went: "I hate you -.-" That was the whole post. When I saw it I nearly fell out of my chair because I burst out laughing. If it wasn't for some reviews I had gotten earlier in the day I would never have thought to see exactly which one-shot this was about. However, I felt somewhat chastised since I realized that none of these reviewers had known that I had posted the happy ending as well. It's posted under my profile as "Needed to Go, Wanted to Stay." For all you people who like happy endings, this is for you.


	4. Juggling

Juggling

~

an Inuyasha fanfiction

by

mkh2

~

Disclaimer: Inuyasha doesn't belong to me… but he should.

~

            Juggling. I was juggling. All was dark and all I had was the vague sensation of waving my hands through the air in practiced motions, juggling… _something_. Balls. It was probably balls, heavy ones, very heavy, round forms dropping into and then quickly leaving my hands. The balls were first almost too big to hold then small… small like a glass bead, and could easily fit in the palm of my hand, and yet somehow heavier in that miniscule form… and then back to big.

            My hands went through the motions faster and faster and then I was (again) vaguely aware of the sound of glass breaking and then… pain. Indescribable pain. Pieces of – what was it? – glass? – entering the flesh of my hands… I kept juggling, more and more pieces slicing into and embedding themselves deeper and deeper into my hands. I never heard the sound of glass falling on the floor so I could only suppose that somehow I managed to keep juggling all the shards of glass – I think it was glass – and in each turn collecting more pieces into the soft flesh of my palm. Soon enough all the pieces were trapped in my hands, fingers and wrist, and yet my hands didn't stop going through the motions in that great, dark void.

            I think that all I was, was a pair of hands, floating through the air, juggling.

~

            I woke up, covered in sweat, panting. I could still feel pain in my hands, yet another physical manifestation of the pain I felt in my dreams. The last time that happened, I had dreamt that I was running to save someone, only to land in a pit of sand and my left leg sinking in, my knee-high cowboy boot filing with sand and scorpions that were sleeping in it, waiting for prey to feast on. When I had woken up I had to clamp my hands over my mouth to drown out my tortured screams and buried my face into my pillow, willing the pain to go away. My left leg was sore for weeks.

            I groaned softly and turned on the lights painfully, my fingers aching with every tiny movement and observed them. They were covered with tiny scratches that were fading away, not too unlike the scorpion dream with the unusual puncture wounds that were long gone before the sun kissed the skyline in the false dawn.*

            All I was were two hands, huh? I fingered the necklace lying on my nightstand, a pouch with a small glass bottle in it and in the glass bottle three shards all we had managed to collect of the ever-elusive shikon no tama. I grit my teeth. Hands. The poor man's tool. All I was… all I'd ever be… to _them_… a tool to collect the accursed jewel.

            I'm so tired. I blink my eyes and lie back down, turning of the light. Buyo's sleeping on my feet again.

            I'll think about it in the morning…

            …if I remember.

            ~Owari~

In case you were wondering, it's Kagome who is having the dream. In fact, the deal with the scorpion dream is that it's a dream I had and, yes, the pain really happened to me… (I didn't have puncture wounds, though, only little red bruises all over my left leg from the knee down… weird.)

*False dawn – yes, there's such a thing. It happens each night, the sky getting lighter then darker before the real dawn approaches. I watched it last week, Thursday the 23rd… I couldn't sleep and took a nap for three hours the next day and _still_ had a hard time sleeping Friday night. Feh.


	5. The 6th commandment

The 6th commandment

~

an Inuyasha fanfiction

by

mkh2

~

It's not that I want to say, it's just that I've been blackmailed. ::sighs:: Alright, Inuyasha doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Rumiko Takahasi. Happy now? ::stomps off::

~

            In the Ten Commandments the sixth one tells us not to murder—it never said _anything_ about killing. We are humans and we kill to defend ourselves, to defend others, to protect our country during times of war, to save humanity, to eat and to live. God granted us pass to kill, not pass to murder, and I'll be damned if I believe differently.

            A human isn't a human if they didn't feel remorse for killing. During, and even before, the killing, they might already feel pangs of remorse, a person might hesitate on taking human life, no matter how innocent, no matter how tainted. I used to wonder, when I was still so young, how the Israelites in the Bible must have felt after their purges of city life, the cities without their brethren. True, upon the mission given them by God being completed, they might have felt good, righteous even, that they had nothing to feel bad about because it's a God-given order, but if they were to stop and linger and _look_ at the people, the woman late in pregnancy, the contents of her womb spilling out at her feet and her neck gaping, lying in a crumpled crimson heap on the ground, or the child who just learned to walk with the skull smashed in… Did they ever feel regret? Those children never had the chance to change. Also, what about the cattle and chickens and goats they were told to eliminate – didn't it seem a waste? Perhaps not to them (except for maybe the livestock), after all, weren't all those who were not of their blood considered less than human? Lower than dogs?

            You couldn't be human if you didn't think on these things afterwards.

            In less than one year I've gone from killing the occasional bug to killing those with humanistic qualities. I say 'humanistic' because no human, no one with a soul, could delight in such brutal, cruel things as they do… as they did. Unless, perhaps, the human is evil, or crazy, but then the one who is evil I no longer classify as a human and the one who is crazy… what it means to be human is lost on them.

            Many times, now, I've tried to kill Naraku and his minions; I've killed youkai by the tens, by the hundreds, by the thousands. I've thought of this many times, about the death of Naraku, and should I succeed in taking his "life" I wouldn't call it murder. Yes, it'd be another death, more blood to cover my once white hands, but it would be another killing. If I didn't have to I wouldn't touch him but so many people have died and suffered because of him and I don't want any more people, be it ningen or youkai or hanyou, to go through the same. I kill to defend my friends and family. I kill to defend strangers. I kill to save lives. I kill for loved ones and for those I can't stand (Kikyo.) Lastly, I kill for myself.

            After all, without me, who will purify the jewel that cursed us all?

            ~Owari~

Fin 

Yet again, another one-shot from Kagome's point-of-view.

Ningen = human; youkai = demon (not necessarily in the Christian sense); hanyou = half-demon, one of both human and demon parentage.

~

Try looking at my profile sometimes… it states which stories I've updated in case you don't see them in the Inuyasha listing (seriously, sometimes I post and when it shows up on the listing, it's often somewhere around 130, and who wants to look that far for a story?  Tippy: that would be Mikki.  Mikki: Quiet you!)

I've updated "Inuyasha and the Drive Thru of Doom".

I've also posted all of "Needed to Go, Wanted to Stay", the happier version, as a separate story. If you people didn't really want it up, don't review and I'll take it down. :þ

~

Nyeh! Buh-bye.


	6. The sweetest shade of brown

The sweetest shade of brown

~

an Inuyasha fanfiction

by

mkh2

~

Disclaimer: Doesn't the fact that I mention the "disclaimer" just scream the obvious at you? It doesn't? This sounds like a job for… Obvious Man! However, he's not here, and he's a character owned by Bizarro… I think… so I guess I have to state it anways: I don't own Inuyasha.

~

            The first time I saw you, eyes flashing, growing darker and darker with each passing moment from the frightened shivery brown from just moments ago to an almost angry black… you were furious. I suppose it was only natural – from the way you were acting it seemed you must've been called that name many times today. I hate not being called by my name, instead being called something else, usually insulting, so I know how you feel.  

            Days passed. I started to get to know your moods, each one practically screamed from your eyes, even when you yourself were not so vocal. It was funny, almost, how the emotions expressed in your eyes were often conveyed by the change in cooler, growing darker or lighter, pale or deeper or richer or creamy. There is one shade in particular, a shade I had never seen before. 

            The sweetest shade of brown.

            Weeks passed. As you opened up to me, even if I didn't always open up to you, you would bring all sorts of delicious treats from your world. My favorite, you quickly learned, was ramen – I knew I couldn't lie to you and say it was disgusting, especially after that face you made the first time I pounced on your backpack at your return from your time. Naturally you subdued me for ripping a hole in one pocket. Five times. One for each claw. At least that's what I think. I didn't mean to. I was hungry.

            I saw many of the shades of brown in the foods you eat that were comparable to your eyes. The one I like the least is the coffee color – the angry black. I've seen it when you were angry with me, or when you thought of her… at least I think it's her you think of since you always seem so bitter about it. Bitter like coffee.

            Coffee can be sweet sometimes though. That's what you said anyway. I couldn't stand the smell enough to taste it after the first time. Your favorite… _frappuccino?_… the one with caramel and lots of cream… I've seen that shade in your eyes when you were sad but resigned. I remember it clearest that time you decided to come back, swirling in murky circles in your eyes. I loved it. I hated it. You hate it when I'm ambivalent, don't you?

            Of course, the coffee drink I liked the most – not to drink but to watch you drink it – was espresso. That was funny. I didn't know you could bounce off the walls like that. Or talk so fast. _Funny._

            I like it when you get that cinnamon shade. You always seem so happy and… perky? Is that what you call it? It sounds right. You have a lot of pluck. And when you smile that cinnamon smile of yours everything seems wonderful – unless you're about to subdue me. I hate it when you do that. Though sometimes I love it. You've saved me with that hated word. You've saved lives with that foul word. And those times I loved it. But most times I hate it. You can understand that. You're so understanding. That's why you put up with her and me. Just please don't say I'm exhausting again.

            The sweetest shade of brown. We had been traveling for months together and I had yet to put a name to that shade you get in your eyes sometimes when I catch you looking at me when you think I'm not looking. It's okay; I do that with you a lot. You don't catch me that often though, I think. It's that warm shade that makes me tingle all over. 

            I remember Shippou was there. Miroku and Sango were at the village with Kaede, waiting for us. I think they were eating, but I didn't mind. I knew you would have ramen for me. Shippou was asking for candy and you said there were lollipops in your bag in the pocket – the one I put the holes in, the ones that made us leave late because you wouldn't leave until they were patched up again – I don't know why you were so embarrassed over those little white packets that fell out – you said they were only candy – mints? – wait, where was I? Oh yes, and he started digging in… and I smelled something sweet, sweeter than those lollipops he likes so much, sweeter than the strawberry pocky Shippou devours so often… so sweet. 

            Then you scolded Shippou. You said that it probably wasn't good for him, and you wanted him to try just a tiny bit slowly to see if it would be okay for him to eat, and not to give any to Kirara, it wouldn't be good for her at all, and maybe Inuyasha would like to try it – just a little. I hate it when you talk as if I'm not there – I was standing right next to you. I understand though – you wanted to make it clear to him who you were talking about since I've seen you do that with your little brother too, and with other small children. Oh, then you said to wait on the new candy until we get to the village.

            We walked.

            I like walking with you. Especially when we are by ourselves, like we used to. 

            You were right, you know – it's been a long time since it was just the two of us. I don't mind though – like you said, it just means I have more friends. I think I like having friends.

            You aren't always right though – you should stop going to your world so much for tests and stay here, with me, like you said you would.

            I don't see how you can stay with me when you keep running away from me.

            But I digress.

            We walked back to the village, said our greetings, had "small talk" as you put it – though I don't see how talk can be small. Unless you mean a whisper. But you never whisper small talk. Ugh – that makes my head hurt. So we made it back to the village and greeted the monk, the taijiya and the ol' hag. I know I'm older than her. It doesn't _matter_ if I'm older than her – she's still an old hag. I like her. I bet my grandmother would have been just like her… if I had a grandmother. And if I had my pick of grandmothers.

            We sat and talked and ate. Same as we do all the time. Sit. Talk. Eat. Talk some more. Maybe sleep. You have so many words for those things. 

            Sit. 

            Lounge. Recline. Rest. Take a load off. 

            Talk. 

            Chat. Discuss. Argue. Communicate. 

            Eat. 

            Devour. Consume. Nibble. Taste. 

            Sleep. 

            Rest. Nap. Catch some Zs. 

            Though I can't see how a person can catch a Z. I didn't know Zs needed to be caught.

            At sunset we sat on the steps. The others were inside Kaede's house. Shippou was asleep, curled up with Kirara on your bed. You know he's too old to be sleeping with you still. Is that why you sometimes have him sleep with Miroku or I? I think you should do as you said once and get him his own sleeping bag.

            You pulled out that candy. Said I could take a little taste – just a nibble, not too much – see if I won't get sick first before I eat more. You muttered something about canines and chalk. You mumble a lot, you know? So I had a little taste. Then I had a little more. Soon I ate it all, except for a little bit you ate and what had melted on your fingers. Oh. I had the candy of your fingers too. I had the most.

            I liked it, that you let me try some of that brown stuff, the very shade of my favorite shade of your eyes. It was just as sweet as I imagined that shade to be.

            Chocolate. The sweetest shade of brown.

            ~Owari~

Well, there you have it. This was a stream-of-conscious from Inuyasha's point-of-view… Yes, he's thinking about Kagome and the "her" I mentioned was Kikyo. Obviously. It probably makes no sense, but I did write this after watching FuriKuri, and half an Inuyasha episode where Hachi was impersonating Miroku (I knew it was him from almost the start… stupid tanuki…) 

Just to let you know I've never drunk coffee except for one time before and it never even made it down my throat. (My sister was the three-year-old coffee addict, not me… But she's better now.) It did make a nice swirly design with the bubbles down the kitchen sink though… So if I screwed up (except for the bitter part, I know I'm right about that otherwise I would've drunk the coffee… I told you it's not good for headaches, mom!) Actually, much of what I write tends to come out stream-of-conscious, even if it doesn't always look it – my stream-of-conscious must've been affected by all those books I used to read when I was little. For instance, my Mikki character, at her silliest, is mostly a stream-of-conscious of my fourteen-year-old self. I was very klutzy then – I wonder if it had anything to do with Sailor Moon, which I watched for four years easy. I watched almost every episode shown on Cartoon Network. … Stop looking at me that way! Okay, okay, I can still be silly.

One or two people said I write these characters well. I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult because I pattern these (and other characters) after certain aspects of my own personality. Seriously though – one of my neighbors used to call me Grumpy. Of course, I had lots of headaches then. But my family knows better – I'm actually very silly – not a giggly high-school girl or anything, I can be serious, though my mom doesn't seem to realize it. (For goodness sake – I haven't been eight in twelve years!)

~

Now here's a word from Mikki (with some noises I tend to make – all pre-Inuyasha, I assure you.): Bleh. Keh, fh, hn, feh. Chu! Ulm? Nyeh-heh-heh-heh… mwr? Uhrbiddi? Nyew! Nyowr! Me feel better… shouldn't have eaten so many Cheetos… or other lovely snack foods. So many snack foods… Yummy, yummy, yummy. I want a cheeseburger.

ß That last part made no sense whatsoever.

Okay, buh-bye! Mikki, over and out! 


	7. Thank you

Thank you

~

an Inuyasha fanfiction

by

mkh2

~

Disclaimer: Inuyasha doesn't belong to me. It's so unfair. ::sniffles::

~

The log crackled and fell, breaking in the fire.

He moved closer to her. She pretended not to notice.

"_Kikyo_?"

"Aa."

He sighed softly.

"He shouldn't keep doing this."

He paused and glanced over at her.

"I can't see why he'd do that… Inuyasha."

She flinched.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She looked away.

"Kagome…"

"Please?" 

He nodded his head before placing his hand on her shoulder.

"If you want to talk…" He left the sentence hanging between them.

"Hai."

He squeezed her shoulder before moving away to settle back in front of the campfire.

"Thank you…

Miroku."

~Owari~

Pretty short and pointless. I wonder where I came up with it. A small piece (strangely just 100 words of story) between Kagome and Miroku. No love-interest though! You know Miroku can be very understanding and, when not acting lecherous, looks after Kagome as if she was his little sister. Despite the fact that he's a lecher he knows when to keep his hands from wandering (sometimes I think he does it just to break the tension…)

Come to think of it, not only is it short and pointless, it doesn't quite make sense written out. If I could make a short movie of what I was watching in my head and post it here, it would make a lot more sense. Wait, does that make sense?


	8. A heart of gold

A heart of gold

~

an Inuyasha fanfiction

by

mkh2

~

            Crack!

            The sound of breaking glass rang through the room.

            Kagomes eyes crinkled around the corners as she carefully swept up the broken glass with a broom and dustpan then proceeded to mop the floor, doing her best to make sure there was not one piece of glass left.

~

In Asian cultures, in the past at least, when, say, a precious vase was broken, it wasn't repaired in the Western way where they tried to make the damage invisible, almost seamlessly putting it back together, to make-believe that it never had suffered… In the Eastern way they celebrated the breaks, repairing the chinks by filling it up with gold, celebrating the new history it had. It showed that it had experience, that it was cherished, that it was valuable. Something that was always sheltered never grew strong. Just like a baby bird must fight its way out of its egg, just as the butterfly beats furiously at the cocoon, the place where it was mended grew stronger… at least that's the theory. It worked well enough in Western cultures anyway; when glue is used properly, the newly made "joint" was stronger than any other part of the pieced together object.

~

            Kagome carefully dumped the water out, watching the slightly murky water swirl down the drain.

            Could the same be said of her heart?

            Inuyasha probably had no idea how many times he must have broken it, only seeming to take notice of a few times, and, perhaps, once setting out to do it purposely –which she naturally stopped before it begun.

            The drain burped.

            Kagome wondered how many times she had left, filling the chinks and sealing the long, wide, gaping cracks before her heart was made of gold. A heart of gold is a precious thing.

            However…

            Gold can't feel.

            Kagome wasn't sure if she dreaded or anticipated that day.

~Owari~

One of my earlier works – it wasn't a fanfiction, but I changed it so it became one… Hope you like.

My sister would probably bash my head in if she realized that I changed "a perfectly good original work to a stupid fanfic – grr!" Yes, my sister would probably go "grr."

~

Wow, I've had this for at least ten days (wait – it says created and last updated on 11-13-03, so… um, 11 days?) but I didn't post… wonder why.

Yup, they do do the gold thing in the East, I loved looking at the pictures of the repaired pottery – I often thought it to be more beautiful than if it had never been cracked.

Hm, I'm thinking of adding something from Sesshoumaru's point of view, and a strange collection of Inuyasha character interviews by Mikki (scary, I know, but I've had them for quite sometime now…) but these are only random thoughts.

I like random thoughts. 

Anywho! … what was I saying? Ah, yeah! I was thinking of deleting my posting of my three-part story "Who I am", but I accidentally came across an author who had it saved under their favorites (and I already forgot whose profile I saw it in) so I'll leave it up. I know how heartbreaking it is too find one of your fav stories go AWOL – happened to me so many times… mostly because when I was a Sailor Moon fan my favorite site disappeared (found a rather odd version of it a few weeks ago, and I last saw it around September 11th, 2001 – you know what I'm talking about, ne? Almost all my favorite stories are gone.) Anyways, "Who I am" is my baby, along with "Nooo!", one of my first DBZ fics and (I think) one of the funnier ones too.


	9. I like the red ones

I like the red ones 

~

an Inuyasha fanfiction

by

mkh2

~

Disclaimer: Well, it seems that my attempts to own Inuyasha has been thwarted again. Translation: I do not own Inuyasha-tachi. That lovely right belongs to the wonderful Rumiko Takahashi, may her ink never run low.

~

Just a little piece with Kagome and my favorite ball of fluff, Shippou. (No, Inuyasha is never a ball of fluff, but he's probably a little furry, ya think?)

~

            Rub, rub, rub 

            "What are you doing?" Curious green eyes peered up at her.

            "Mahnohffithco."

            "What?"

            She removed her hands from there position on her face.

            "My nose is cold."

            "Oh." The green eyes sparkled as an idea occurred to their owner. "I can warm it up for you!"

            "Yeah?"

            Placing his tiny hands on her nose he rubbed furiously.

            "Waah!" He pulled back on blew on his little hands. "That got hot real fast!" He huffed slightly and blew on the ten tiny digits. "Phwoo, phwoo, phwoo!"

            She smiled slightly before putting her hands to her face again.

            "Is your nose still cold?"

            "Aa."

            "I'll warm them up for you!" he repeated. He thought for a moment before tugging at his hair ribbon. His pretty auburn hair fell loose in a big fluffy wave over his tiny shoulders. "I thought of fox fire but thought that might be too much," he nodded confidentially as he leaped up to her shoulder and carefully tied the beloved ribbon around her face so that it covered her nose.

            "Thank you." She smiled gently and held the tiny fox-boy in her arms who yawned and snuggled down.

            "When I go back to my time, I'll be sure to get you many lollipops!" she chirped to the half-asleep child.

            "I like the red ones," he murmured before falling asleep.

            "Good night, Shippou-chan."

            ~Owari~

Aww, I love Shippou-chan. ::blinks eyes:: I love little kids – period. This was inspired by my rubbing my nose furiously last night – I was cold! Also… by Mr. Miyagi – I loved the Karate Kid movies!

To StoicStella: I hadn't realized people could do author alerts… I guess I should've looked more closely at options on my page; maybe I would've noticed then, huh? Bai-bai!


	10. Reincarnation Bites

Reincarnation Bites

~

an Inuyasha fanfiction

by

mkh2

~

Disclaimer: I asked Inuyasha if I could have him. He said no… Okay, not in those words exactly, but if used them then the content of the disclaimer would not be allowed on FF.net. My poor ears are so abused.

Tippy: in case you didn't understand, that means she doesn't own Inuyasha. Duh.

~

            He sighed and let his backpack drop to the floor with a thump, kicking the door closed behind him. Calling out to his family that he was home, he rolled his shoulders once and shrugged off the jacket that was customary for students in his middle school to wear. After a brief snack he walked through the house to his room, whereupon he immediately flopped face first onto his bed.

            It's not fair.

            He had waited for so long, so long to finally be worthy, to finally make a move on the most beautiful, the most understanding, the most _perfect_ girl in the world's history… perhaps too long.

            He tried everything he could think of to woo her. He heard that she was sick so he brought her things he felt would aid in remedying any physical ailments (though, good Lord, she certainly looked healthy… very healthy – stop that train of thoughts immediately!) He tried the regular teenage stuff that seemed so popular with everyone else in their age group – movies, dining at all the hot spots, not that he had many chances to go out with her. Heck, he even bought her tickets to go to an amusement park… but sadly went he ended up going with her friends instead. Sure, the girls were rather pretty, but they weren't _her_.

            Perhaps he should tell her the truth of who he is. Granted, he mused as he peered into the small mirror over his dresser, he looked nothing like he did in the past, unlike she did in comparison to her previous incarnation, so she might think that maybe there was just something ailing _him_.

            But she is so understanding, maybe she'd understand.

            Perhaps if he could manage to pull off one of the many stunts that he had then…

            He couldn't. Lord knows he's tried.

            And tried and tried and tried.

            He wanted to touch, hold her, say her name, the name he called her then, not simply _Higurashi_, though he did like the bit of a bounce the name had to it. Nowhere near as cute as _Kagome_ though – seriously, being named after a children's song… can't get much cuter than that (unless, perhaps, you looked at the odd naming of those strange senshi in the sailor fuku… but his parents never let him watch that show… he wondered why.)

            How'd he end up getting reincarnated as this weakling, anyway? He knew he had much more power than that…

            He wondered how he was reincarnated. Period.

            Maybe it was because he was so in love with her in the past that the good Lord saw it fit to give him another chance. In that strange realm (which, seeing through the eyes of someone who has seen the 20th century and all the wonders it held, really made sense – almost everything that he had experienced then simply didn't fit in the history books as they were written… though some of the "legends" rang quite true, if slightly altered…) he had tried to think that the affections he held for her were more that of a friend, a sister, a family member of some sort that held some sort of kindness in their heart for him and which he'd readily returned… but, ah, see how he'd ramble to himself when he was so desperate to convince himself to something, to persuade him otherwise he's find himself somewhere he didn't want to be?

            Namely, in this case, it was being in love with her that got his fundoshi* in a twist. (By the by – when that happens it _hurts!_) It shouldn't hurt to love someone so much, but considering the circumstances, it was more than understandable. He didn't want to fall in love. He tried to avoid falling in love.

            Alas.

            He fell in love.

            With someone he shouldn't have.

            And it hurt like… heck.

            Dang… no matter how hard he tried he couldn't be as loud or as rude or as crude as he so desperately wanted to be. He tried to be forward with Kagome – he went through her friends as subterfuge instead. He tried to ask her out repeatedly. He brought her gifts instead and hoped that she'd be better. He wanted to make out with her. He helped her cram for a math exam.

            Despite all his best efforts he remained staunchly a goody-two-shoes.

            Did someone swap his karma receipts at the checkout line?

            Somebody must be yucking it up big time up there somewhere. (He probably would if it was someone else.)

            At least they gave him a body that was on the physically attractive side.

            He thinks.

            He knew her friends got all giggly over him, knew they thought he looked good. And at one time he was pretty sure she thought he looked good too.

            At one time.

            Now he felt lucky if she gave him that crooked smile and looked him in the eye for longer than five seconds. What had happened? Had he waited too long to make his move?

            Didn't he already say that?

            Half-smothering himself, he wondered what would happen if he tried to make himself look like he did back then. Grow his hair out, dye it, get colored contacts…

            He'd probably get kicked out of school. Stupid dress codes.

            Still, tomorrow is another day. Another day to win over Higurashi Kagome's heart, the heart of the most perfect girl in the world's history.

            If only he wasn't just "Hojou-kun" to her.

            If only he looked like he did in the past.

            If only he could _act_ like he did in the past.

            Maybe then she'd realize and then she'd throw her arms around him and kiss him and say "I love you…

            …Miroku."

            He'd be the happiest dead monk reincarnated ever.

~Owari~

*Fundoshi - Japanese Traditional Loincloth

Hey, I just thought, well, in the second movie Miroku did a little bit of bonding (however brief) with Hojou's ancestor (watching Sango and Kagome bathe) and thought – "dang, both are perverts." Then I thought, well, considering how most people tend to make Hojou either Inuyasha, Shippou or Naraku, or simply Hojou, why not have him be Miroku? I don't see that too often.


	11. A Refractured Conversation

A Refractured Conversation

~

an [Inuyasha] fanfiction

by

mkh2

~

Disclaimer: if Inuyasha ever belonged to me, I'd be sure to let you know.

~

            A refractured fairytale is only possible if you've already fractured it first.

            Oh?

            But most of them have been so completely demolished by Disney I guess it's okay to take their plotlines and completely change it.

            Does the Hunchback of Notre Dame count?

            I don't think it's a bona fide fairytale but I think we can pass.

            You sure? 

            Pretty much, yeah.

            Why?

            Did you see what they did to it?

            Not really – saw the commercials, though.

            First off, the guy in long garb, can never remember his name – he dies; Desdemona – she dies; the hunchback – he dies; in Disney, nobody dies, but everybody lives happily ever after in a never ending festival, capice?

            Ouch.

            Very.

            Didn't you say this was kind of like a fairytale?

            What's like a fairytale?

            This place, this time, this world, this… us.

            Oh, I guess I might've said something along those lines.

            Then what happened to our happily ever after?

            What?

            You know, the happily ever after!

            Having you been going through my movies again when I'm at school?

            … Maybe.

            In most original fairytales they weren't that happily ever after… it often took a lot of pain to get there, if ever.

            Oh.

            I guess you could say this is happily ever after if you feel like it.

            Really?

            Sure – you happy?

            I guess.

            Good.

            You?

            I think so.

            So this is happily ever after, right?

            Well, if the shoe fits, wear it, and if the ever after makes you happy, amen.

            Amen?

            _So be it._

            Ah.

            Ah.

~And all was calm. Amen.~

~Owari~

Probably my strangest piece of fiction ever. For a moment it was between two made up characters I have, to be placed at the beginning of a collection of short stories I'm _trying to compile but am having a miserable time of, but then I started thinking of it being a strange conversation between Inuyasha and Kagome, preferably at sunset, my favorite time of the day. I guess I'll post it here for now. _

Yes, I know Kagome is Japanese and probably wouldn't use Amen, which is a Jewish word (which I'm not, by the way – oy, the chutzpah you all have!) However, it's one of my favorite words, connected to a rather silly childhood memory of Grandpa leading the family (consisting of more than thirty people, usually) in prayer – my sister and I ended up thinking that we all had to end the prayer in an "Ah-MEN" and a loud clap… we were silly children. Forgive us. Besides, I did say this was originally for something completely different and was planning on ending it that way.

Also, yes, I know, Inuyasha has barely seen any television (there was an episode where he saw a news report at Kagome's house after he helped stop a bank robber and saved a girl from a burning building – silly puppy-head sniffed the TV in confusion!)

The style I used in this piece I've seen once, I think, in the novel The House on Mango Street, though I'm not entirely sure if that is the title.

Note: is there such a word as refractured? I saw that phrase somewhere before "Refractured Fairytales" … Hello? Anybody out there?

~

Another note: I've put out two Naruto one-shots, for anybody who wants to poke the pointer at it.

~

To: Palimino – gimme your email address!


	12. A trove of peccadilloes

A trove of peccadilloes

~

a re-spun Inuyasha fanfiction

by

mkh2

~

            "_A trove of peccadilloes._"

            I had seen this phrase, maybe once before, but I had never stopped to find out what this meant. I had liked the way it sounded, certainly, and found the last word particularly delightful to say – peccadilloes – but I, in all my rush to move onto the next thing, the next moment, the next… whatever… hadn't, in my opinion, found any time to take a moment to understand the meaning.

            Naturally, when I saw it again in my leisure time, I felt inclined to pass it over once more, to find something more interesting to do than wallow in linguistics. But, being a dedicated student when not on my oh-so-fascinating adventures, well, sometimes fascinating, I put down the article, picked up my dictionary and thesaurus, and began to translate.

Trove: treasure of unknown ownership found hidden. any collection of valuables that is discovered.

Peccadilloes: sin. offense. failing. indulgence. crime. transgression. wrongdoing.

            I tittered a bit at the thought. A collection of _valuable_ sins? Then, sobering up a little, I thought, perhaps a treasure of _hidden indulgences?_ Is such a thing possible?

            Naturally.

            I've pretty much kept all my little indulgences to myself, though, in having known me, some people have found some out from their hidden places. For instance…

            In my leisure time, there is nothing better, in my opinion, than sitting down with a freshly made bowl of oden and the latest shoujo manga available to me.

            I like to ride on Inuyasha's back because it means I get to touch him and smell his hair… kinda musky but nice.

            Whenever I get the chance to, I blackmail Inuyasha into letting me pet his ears.

            I have a secret stash of Hershey's kisses under my bed.

            So _many_ little secrets… 

            a touch of _vanity_… 

            I mean, I wear my school uniform in the Sengoku Jidai, which is highly impractical, but I never want to be mistaken for _her_ again… 

            some _envy_…

            again, _her_… Kikyo, the one Inuyasha loves…

            some telling of _falsehoods_…

            I do not always go home for tests… however, what is worse, is not telling my family just how much danger I face each day in the Sengoku Jidai.

            I, too, have a trove of peccadilloes.

            And yet, don't we all?

            ~Owari~

Well, I was wondering when that was going to be put out (I seem to have misplaced this other one-shot, but I only have a few places left to look… my car, for instance… and even if I can't find that one I think I can wing it.) By the by, this is Kagome speaking.

Originally, it was written completely from my point of view – it wasn't for Inuyasha or anything else, but then I thought, hey, even Kagome has wondered at times when she became such an awful person (over Kikyo – wishing she was dead or gone or something, can't quite remember right now.)

I got the definitions from using the thesaurus on my computer and the dictionary on FF.net. Who knew FF could be so useful as well as entertaining?

For people who read "Vegeta ½," I combined the "Inspiration behind Vegeta ½" and "'veggie's boo' review AN" together and placed them at the end of a, I think, rather unusual bonus chapter… I'm guessing I ate one too many Cheetos late at night or something…

Don't worry! I'll have more stuff out soon. Just keep an eye out for it, I won't fail (I hate it when author's discontinue their stories, so I'm going to try never to do so myself. I think I hate hypocrisy even worse, and loathe it when I am guilty of the same transgression.) Ja.


	13. All the little things

All the little things

~

an Inuyasha fanfiction

by

mkh2

~

Disclaimer: Dang… no Inuyasha under my Christmas tree or in my stocking over the fireplace… Didn't get my Christmas wish… So it seems that Inuyasha still belongs to Rumiko Takahashi… oh well, maybe next year. 

~

            He loved her and everything about her and all the little things she did and all that made her tick.

            He loved the way her eyelashes would flutter when she sighed, how she wrinkled up her nose slightly at strong perfumes and tried politely not to cough and sneeze when she got near cigarette smoke but loved the subtle scent of incense.

            He loved how she thought that porridge with cinnamon and raisins was the world's most perfect breakfast and that it was perfectly acceptable to have a midnight snack of pizza, applesauce and cocktail olives at 3 in the morning.

            And he loved to kiss that little spot between her shoulder blades and watch her toes curl up with pleasure.

            In short: He. Loved. Her.

            He thought it funny how instead of using align left the way most people did on the computer she insisted on using justified, or on other little things she demanded it be centered; she thought it was best that everything be centered and justified properly before being handed in to her – except for bibliographies – it was aligned left for bibliographies, but that was only because that was standard procedure… She had little nuances about that too.

            He thought it strange, when she was still in school, that she could find homework more important than spending time with him, but it was only until after she finished school that he discovered that she felt he was vastly more important than school and that was why she was so desperate to get it out of the way.

            Did he mention that he loved her?

            "You know," she'd say afterwards, "if I wasn't so worried about disappointing my family by not finishing up school and college and not becoming a rich and successful doctor or lawyer or politician or whatnot, I'd have dropped out of college a long time ago and started right away with my writer's career? I'm so glad that Daddy soon decided that politics was a forum for circus rejects otherwise I would be stuck somewhere in law school just spinning my wheels and looking for a way out."

            "I'm glad too," he'd reply. "But you're happy, aren't you, now that you've got that 'stupid' degree of yours?"

            "I guess," she'd say. "It's just paper."

            "And that's why you have forty newspapers lying at the foot of our bed?"

            "Thirty-seven, and they've been neatly filed away."

            He loved how she could always make him laugh even without her meaning to, and how she'd readily laugh at her own mistakes, but could cry when someone laughed at her when she felt it wasn't funny in the least. 

            He loved how she laughed at his stupid jokes, especially when he realized later how stupid they were and how she actually has a good sense of humor and a good taste about such things and how usually she wouldn't laugh at something that's not funny… though he's seen her shoulders shake, on more than one occasion, when she found something funny in a place where you're supposed to be quiet. That's probably why she had to excuse herself at her great-uncle's funeral when his estranged-brother started on a long-winded, completely bogus eulogy, extolling her great-uncle's praises. Everyone knew that his brother didn't like him, ever since their mysterious falling out over a piecrust recipe, something about shortening or lard or butter substitutes. But then, speak only good of the dead is something to take into consideration.

            And as he lay there that crisp and cool morning under the covers, observing her peaceful sleeping face, he couldn't help but wonder how he was so lucky as to get the most wonderful woman in the world as his wife.

~

Originally written 11/21/2003, it, again, wasn't for Inuyasha or any other anime – it was mostly some thoughts that I just had, and a bit indirectly written after my personality, though, I must confess, I hate olives. Updated and corrected Christmas, 2003.

What's with the estranged-brother and great-uncle bit? I dunno, thought that'd be funny. One of my first pieces that I'm compiling into a collection of short stories was about a guy turning himself into a nervous wreck about performing a eulogy… still have no idea why I picked out that silly name…

Until next time ~ Mikki


	14. Three Days

Three Days

~

an Inuyasha fanfiction

by

mkh2

~

Disclaimer: It must be said: "Inuyasha: Sengoku o-Togi Zoushi" belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, despite my recent attempts to steal away the rights. However, I will not give up. I have plans, see, _plans_. ::nods to the piles of scrolls, notebooks, maps, and scrap paper piled up in my bedroom:: One of them has got to work…

~

            Three days. It's been three days. Three long, terrible days since Kikyo-onee-chan died. Three long lonely nights since we've burned her cold, pale body to ashes and placed them in an urn in a makeshift shrine until a proper shrine could be erected in her honor.

            Kaede paused in her sweeping, reaching back to tighten the knot of the ribbon that now kept her hair back in a ponytail. Since her sister died and she had the most spiritual powers, potential and training in the village, she was therefore expected to take on the role of residential miko. She rubbed the back of her hand over her eyes, brushing away unshed tears. She may now be a miko but she was still a child who had lost her beloved sister.

            Kaede supposed that the biggest shock to her system was how Kikyo died. Well, no, not _how_ she died – she always supposed it would be a youkai of some sort that would catch her unawares or at least old age – but rather at by _whose_ hands she died.

            She had looked up to Inuyasha so much, like he was her hero, like the older brother she never had. She thought he would _be_ her big brother, in time – she was so certain that he and Kikyo cared deeply for each other and that someday that caring would turn to love and then, when, perhaps, the issues with the Shikon no Tama were resolved, they would get married. Perhaps.

            However it wasn't meant to be.

            It just didn't make sense! Not him, not ever. If he wanted to he could've easily killed her before, he could've hurt everyone in the village, but he had never raised his claws to anyone with the intention to kill, well, except for a few demons (and hurt people with evil intentions) that had threatened Kikyo and the well being of this village. She could see his gruffness was all a bluff. Her big brother couldn't possibly kill any human. It just wasn't possible. Not with those big puppy eyes and those fluffy puppy ears.

            But he did. It didn't make sense but he did. And it wasn't fair. She lost her onee-chan and her onii-chan in one fell blow.

            Still, she thought, she couldn't find it in herself to hate Inuyasha. She was angry with him, for certain, and she was so confused by her actions but to her he was still her big strong Inu-no-onii-chan and thus could never hate him, not when he hung so innocently on the blesséd tree.

~Owari~

Part one of two finished.

Onee-chan: Elder sister, affectionate

Onii-chan: Elder brother, affectionate

Inu-no-onii-chan: Elder Dog brother; often used by Souta in the Inuyasha series

~

This is to be posted in two parts. I had this one on the back burner for a while because it didn't sound quite right. This piece takes places, obviously, three days after Kikyo was originally killed and Inuyasha sealed. The next part will take place much later. It should be up tomorrow, but no promises. I hate making promises.

"One shouldn't use 'never', nor often use 'always', and rarely, if ever, make others promises." – me

The line is from a rather large story that I'm slowly working on and has, strangely enough, inspired another fanfiction titled "Always Never Promise" – I'm not saying which anime it has to do with though – you'll have to figure it out yourself by watching my profile. Nyeh!

This is Mikki, over and out.


	15. Three Days Later

Three Days Later

~

an Inuyasha fanfiction

by

mkh2

~

Disclaimer: "Inuyasha: Sengoku o-Togi Zoushi" _blah blah blah_ belongs to Rumiko Takahashi _blah blahddy blah_ and not to me _blah blah_ mkh2. Ya know, writing legal mumbo jumbo is not always as hard as it looks, but in the end it all looks like the same ol' _blah_.

~

Just to let you know there are some spoilers for the manga volume 1/the first four episodes. Whiny people be warned. (Seriously, most people should have seen at least that much by now!)

~

            Three days. It's been three days. Three long, trying days since the enchanted hanyou was revived. Three long terrible nights holding vigil over a small time-confused girl, first mistaken for a demon and now assured that she was a reincarnation. Three days since the Shikon no Tama has resurfaced in the village from the wound in the side of the same said girl.

            Kaede paused in her meditation, blowing leaves off her face and wishing she could reach back to tighten the knot of the long ribbon that kept her even longer hair back in a ponytail. For fifty years, ever since her sister died, she had been the village miko, working hard and tirelessly – well, almost – to protect and guide the people of this village, in the good times and bad, in famine and plenty, in war and peace, for many funerals and many births. She now wished to rub the back of her hand over her eyes, trying to moisten her dry eyes. She may be a miko but she was still a woman who has seen the harshness of life and had soon found she was destined to live it alone.

            Or so Kaede thought.

            Kaede supposed that the biggest shock to her system was how the hanyou was released. A slip of a girl, no more than fifteen years of age, bearing a striking resemblance to her belated sister and yet was nothing like her dear elder sister, had managed to free the accursed hanyou that hung from the most sacred of trees on the land.

            She had supposed that the hanyou would hang from the tree forever, had supposed that the Shikon no Tama would forever be lost to the world same as her long lost sister, had supposed, even, that she would be alone till she died.

            Assumptions are funny things.

            This small girl brought to mind her sister, perhaps the sort of sister she would have had if her sister hadn't been destined to be a miko. In the first day she found, in her own way, the sister she had lost. In the first night the long-since sealed hanyou was revived – and restrained with a rosary whose powers were wielded by the young untrained miko that was found. And in the first night the Shikon no Tama was revealed to have been reborn into the world just as dangerous and as beautiful as it had been all those fifty years ago. And in that first day she found she now had companions she could not shake free of… and didn't particularly want to try to either.

            So, it seemed all the problems with the Shikon no Tama had not ended those fifty years ago but instead had just started. In the second day a corpse-dancing demon stole away with the Shikon no Tama, and the time-crossed miko, for the first time in her life acting the role given to her at birth, saved the life of a child and, picking up a bow for only the second time of her life, being twice that day, thus wielded the bow and arrow and struck down the crow – and thus the journey started. 

            The girl left for a few hours on the third day after bathing in the cold waters; Kaede had felt the shift in time, if only faintly, when the girl had reached the bone-gobbler's well, after all, she had been rather preoccupied with finding a way to stop the bewitchment of the villagers without harming them. The hanyou had arrived on the scene and, inadvertently, protected her, then spelled her away and into the woods and half-buried her where she was now to keep her concealed and safe while he searched out the girl to stop the youkai that had caused much trouble amongst the peaceful villagers and had bewitched them to violence and thus had given her a most grievous, or at least painful, injury.

            It just didn't make sense! If the hanyou was truly as evil as he was supposed to be, he shouldn't have even bothered to protect her, to rescue her from the enchanted villagers. Even if he had rescued her initially, upon gleaning from her the needed information he should have left her in the open, defenseless and vulnerable instead of taking the time to ensure her safety. Upon hearing that the villagers had been so bespelled, most demons still wouldn't have paused and stayed their hand, instead delighting in the prey that so easily had fallen into their lap. He acted rude and crass and was seen to be rather vulgar at times and perhaps somewhat perverted for trying to spy out the location of the Shikon no kakera while the girl-miko bathed and yet he had a unmistakably gentle side as he carefully placed her into the grave and hurriedly but carefully had covered her with dirt and leaves, effectively camouflaging her. Perhaps indeed his human blood and heart held some sway over him.

            He was a hanyou and like his supposedly more powerful youkai counterparts was not supposed to be gentle or look down on humans with kindness. But he did. It didn't make sense but he did. And it wasn't fair. Everything she knew to be true and right seemed to fall apart in this world. Her sister was gone and now found. Time was not to be trifled with and yet this miko-child had been given the authority to pass back through it. The Shikon no Tama was eradicated in this world and was now to be found world over. The hanyou on the tree was supposed to be maliciously evil and in a forever sleep and now walked amongst the villagers peacefully if not the most welcomed of people.

            And now footsteps were falling closer and closer, and now the sounds of bickering voices drew ever nearer, and now, through the leaves that had yet again blown on her face, she saw the hanyou and the girl-child look down at her and felt the gentle lightening of the earth on her as they worked to free her from the temporary grave that the hanyou had hastily craven. This was all good and well as her nose itched dreadfully. And now gentle rough hands picked her up and carried her the way she had once longed to be carried on the back of the big-brother she had longed for back to her village, the soft whispered arguments falling on deaf ears as Kaede relaxed from her thoughts.

            She couldn't find it in herself to hate Inuyasha nor to be angered with the thoughtless actions of Kagome who had shattered the jewel. She was, indeed, somewhat frustrated that now, so late in her life, they had to deal with the Shikon no Tama and the evil it drew again. She wondered, again, if Inuyasha had truly been the one to murder her sister and she wondered if, perhaps, she would see those two souls united as she had once prayed for it in the bodies of Inuyasha and Kagome. And it all happened three days after the girl found the hanyou who hung so innocently on the blesséd tree.

~Owari~

Part two of two finished.

Hanyou – half demon, half-human; it seems that Inuyasha is one of the "prettier" sort

Youkai – demon, though not necessarily in the Christian sense – the ones most similar to the Christian term would include all spirit possessions and the occasional vengeful spirit, such as the spirit of the bear youkai that Sango and other Taijiya had killed in one episode and was not properly put to rest

Shikon no Tama – in the American-English version translated as the Jewel of Four Souls

Shikon no kakera – literally shards of the Four Souls, usually translated in American-English as shards of the Jewel, jewel shards or shards of the Jewel of Four Souls 

Miko – a Shinto priestess, usually; also, any young virgin girl who helps to care for a shrine

~

Recap from previous posting: [This is to be posted in two parts. I had this one on the back burner for a while because it didn't sound quite right. This piece takes places, obviously, three days after Kikyo was originally killed and Inuyasha sealed. The next part will take place much later. It should be up tomorrow, but no promises. I hate making promises.]

I had tried to post this Thursday the 22nd but it seems there was some strange glitch in the document and it refused to do a copy and paste, so I had to retype the dumb thing all over again.

For readers who had recently stumbled on one-shot "Needed to Go" in "Inuyasha: Thoughts": try looking at my profile! Obviously I ended up posting the happy version – most people like fairytale endings (though, I'm sure if they read more of those fairy tales in the original version, they'd probably not like them so much) so naturally I ended up posting it! Just in case though I think I might put a small note on the bottom of "Needed to Go". Ja.


	16. Scars

Scars

~

an Inuyasha fanfiction

by

mkh2

~

Disclaimer: the world will rue the day that I get my hands on Inuyasha, at least that's what I'm guessing since I don't have Inuyasha yet. So, when I do get Inuyasha, the world will be very rueful. Probably. The world's so messed up who knows… they might have a party and do an international conga line.

Tippy: Translation: the baka doesn't own Inuyasha – don't sue her or she'll stop buying me food.

Mikki: Thank you my loving little sister. .

… Also, I don't own Curad Scar Therapy patches, the tricky little things.

~

Based on my experiences with my own irritating, stupid scar… grr.

~

            She twisted and squirmed, bending her body to a rather unnatural position as she tried to remove the sticky piece of… whatever the patch was made of …from her fingertips and adhere it instead to the side of her body where it was needed. The scar, the last known remnant of her first mind-jarring night in the Sengoku Jidai, a lasting souvenir from the jaws of Mistress Centipede, was light in color and not very long, but still distracting enough to anyone who saw it up close. She claimed it didn't bother her in the least having the scar… but she lied. Of course, that last fact was rather obvious since she _was_ trying to get rid of it, well, at least most of it, with the help of these handy-dandy little patches from the people from Curad, bless their scientific little hearts. With a last grunt and sigh, she examined her handy-work in the mirror and smiled, pleased with her efforts. She pulled her shirt on.

            If these frustrating little patches could do the trick, she'd try them on Sango – if she still wanted to by then. Though normally not suspicious about most such handy medical devices her dear friend brought from her time in the future, the shy girl did seem rather wary about a piece of parchment that all but promised the disappearance of scars. The lovelorn taiyjiya, though, did seem willing to consider the offer if it worked; after all, Sango was still a woman with all her insecurities, and she often worried that she wouldn't be attractive enough to find a suitable husband (so she said, but the attentions of a certain houshi should have been enough to quell any such despairing thoughts.) She found out sadly, that the patches actually needed to be firmly attached with the extra adhesive patches that came in the box – after all, with all the twisting and moving that came with the walking, her waist wasn't actually still enough to keep the thing on her without her constant attention – so that was one point she had to subtract from all the bonus points she had heaped on them. It hurt like crazy taking them off, not too mention all the scrubbing that went into removing the "clothing lint" that had by the end of the day adhered to her skin. She could only guess how many would be needed to take away the one on her friend's back.

            She looked herself over in the mirror, frowning at the little Band Aid with its tiny broomsticks and witches that was plastered to her cheek just an inch below her left eye. She was treating it as carefully as possible in the hopes not to add another scar to her collection. She was careful now, yes, but obviously was careless enough to get the injury in the first place. She hadn't watched where she stepped, tripped over a tree root and did a face plant worthy of Inuyasha's finest dives into the dirt, all courtesy of herself via _Oswurai_, of course.

            _It's so easy to get hurt._

            She sighed softly. That was so true, it was so easy to get hurt; one slip, one spill, one careless gesture, and one would find themselves bearing the mark of the pain and errors from their past for a lifetime. It's also so easy to look back with all one's _woulda__,_ _shoulda__,_ _couldas_, to see where you messed up and know what steps should have been taken to prevent the pain from occurring in the first place. Sometimes she wished she had some demon blood in her like Inuyasha, that way she wouldn't have to worry about getting hurt and having a lasting scar.

            She frowned at that callous thought. True, Inuyasha might get hurt physically and heal quickly, but that didn't mean he didn't also get hurt and scarred in places that couldn't be seen. She saw the pain that was all too apparent in his eyes every time something reminded him of his past, of his mother, of his childhood, of… Kikyo. Of course, that last one hurt her too.

            Everyone has a scar somewhere. It could be the most insignificant thing, from a paper cut, from a nasty spill as a child, from a careless hand in dealing with a knife, or even from a burn… or perhaps instead from a scorned love, a lost friend, getting that  which is most precious to you stolen away.

            Kagome closed her eyes and leaned against the wall in the bathroom, across from the mirror over the sink. When she stood that far away from someone in real life, no one could see the scar unless they _really_ looked but when she stood closer, like, say, next to the sink, they could see it plainly. But now… she lifted the shirt to reveal the patch in all its blinding white glory. From where she leaned it was ever apparent and it would be more so when she stood by the sink, the patch calling attention to the hurt flesh it covered. However, someday soon she could stand by the sink (if the ads truly did stand up to their claims) and nothing will be seen but smooth, clear flesh, devoid of any mark or change in color.

            She wished such a thing could be found for Inuyasha's heart, and for Sango's heart, and Miroku's and Shippou's hearts, and the hearts of all the grieving people she had met in her journeys; a simple patch that could be administered with one deft stroke of the hand and then removed (albeit slightly painfully – she was, after all, bringing into account the tug of hair) and leave no trace of the bitter past. Yes, the patch would make the fragility more apparent for sometime but eventually the healing balm would work and then it would be no more than a dull memory.

            She finished getting ready and ran out to meet Inuyasha.

~

            "Hey, Kagome, about time you got back. I'm hungry, got any ramen?" Inuyasha asked, pulling Kagome up by her backpack.

            "Oh. Hi Inuyasha. Sorry about the wait. I was trying to get that scar removal patch on and it was being a pain," Kagome chirped up at him, a slight smile on her lips as she was placed on her feet in the flower-filled field by the well.

            "Keh. Yeah, whatever. …So, um, how's it going?" Inuyasha faced slightly to the side, arms in his sleeves, ears pointed slightly towards her.

            "How's what going?" Kagome blinked at him. Was he asking her how her day was?

            "The- the patch thingies. What did you think I was talking about?" Inuyasha blinked right back at her.

            "Oh, right," Kagome sweat dropped before tugging up her shirt enough to show him the patch. "Well, it's a bit annoying at times, and glaringly obvious so I can't dress like I want, and it is a bug to try to get it off since it clings to _my_ skin like a second skin, but the scar is healing and in the end it's all worth it." She smiled up at him. "In fact, I was thinking how nice it would be if the people at Curad could make some for broken hearts, to heal them, so I could give some to Sango for her sadness for her brother and Shippou for his loss of his parents… and you."

            "Whuh— Me? What the heck are you talking about? I don't need one. That's nonsense." Inuyasha stomped towards to the village, Kagome's backpack in hand (though when exactly he had gotten possession of it was beyond her), the aforementioned girl trailing after him. She caught up to him and grinning, grabbed his hand and started to tug him while skipping slightly, despite his half-hearted protests. He smiled softly.

            'Really, Kagome, I don't see how I could need one when I already have *you working on me.'

            ~Owari~

As a testament to show you just how late at night I was writing this piece, here's the deleted portion marked by the asterisk above: "*a big Kagome-shaped one"

How is it that I know it's so annoying to use one on the waist, you ask? It's because I happen to have one just about where Kagome would have one, thanks to a rather unfortunate car accident ten days before my fourteenth birthday. We were driving up a mountain when some drunken idiot swerves out of his lane into ours, side-swiping the car in front of us and slamming head on into us. So-o, the belt buckle bit into my left side, right along the area where Kagome would have been bitten by Mistress Centipede, and big enough for my huge honking marble (um, a big shooter?) to have fit comfortably in (probably a bit bigger than the Shikon no Tama – and just consider the size of the bandage they put over her wound…) The sad thing is, that was probably the smallest injury on me (though in my opinion the most painful, much more than the cracked clavicle) and it wouldn't have scarred if the people attending us had cleaned it like I asked… Sorry, I tend to gripe about that. But seriously! Was a little peroxide so much to ask for? 

Recently I bought some of those strips and have been trying them out… I think it's working rather well despite it only have been in use for a short while, probably because I'm a pretty good healer. However, there's one thing that gets to me… It's so hard to get on right! I'm twisting and turning and bending over trying to make sure I line the stupid strip on right and then I have to put the extra adhesive on otherwise it sticks to my shirt and falls on the floor… I guess it's all part and parcel for being on a part of my body that does lots of moving around (like on a knuckle or wrist… lots of movement there…) You'd think the mirror would help but _no_… I always get confused about which way to move my hands and then the stupid thing gets stuck _to_ my hands…

Now, here's my frustration over the stupid scar, vented out on all you poor readers. See, I'm not a Kagome-wannabe, just a person who got stuck with some paramedics who wouldn't pay attention to me when I asked for something to clean my cut.

I'm probably going to have another piece out soon… Unfortunately I won't being updating my "Hey! What's with the growling?" fic or "Vegeta ½" because I just realized I had saved both stories to my Zip disk and _only_ to my Zip disk… and I don't have a Zip drive at home.

Hope you've enjoyed my pointless ramblings.

~Mikki

The time spent on the actual fic: 

Around one hour… I was kind of busy eating rice with… um, I'm not sure what exactly it is called, but it's tasty and it looks like some kind of red… meat… stuff. I should ask mom what it's called since she's the one who makes it.

~

AN: I've had this saved on a bad floppy disk that only just recently decided to relinquish the information it's been holding out on me. And here was this little fic. I cleaned it up (a little bit, I mostly got rid of same main spelling errors – horrors of all horrors, the computer had changed _Sango_ to _Bingo_! I'm not even sure how that happened!)


	17. Would you…?

Would you…?

~

an Inuyasha fanfiction

by

mkh2

~

Disclaimer: What? Do I look like Rumiko Takahashi? I'm not even from the same island… or slice of the earth. Why do you think my Japanese is so bad?

~

"Would you please bear my child?"

Slap!

Without fail, I was turned down. Again.

And again and again and again.

It didn't matter to me. I couldn't see why it should.

As a child I wasn't very lecherous, preferring to retreat into my thoughts rather than pay attention to the dancing troupe of girls Mushin would hire for entertainment. One of my last memories of my father was on one such day. The thoughts of him sinking into the earth as he got pulled into that God-forsaken Kazaana hurt; it wasn't until much later that I realized why Mushin had gone through the trouble to get those girls that day: it was to distract me from the horrors that were to shortly occur outside. I hadn't listened to Mushin but instead reacted on instinct, barreling out the door and being caught by Mushin just in time to avoid my being caught in the hell-borne winds that issued from the cursed hand of my father. My own Kazaana was so underdeveloped at the time that covering it wasn't much of an issue though, thinking back, it might've given me a few more years if I had started covering it at an earlier age.

"Beautiful maiden, would you bear my child?"

Laughter.

"Oh, houshi-sama, you are too much!"

And yet another rejection to my proposal met my ears. In a way this sort of rejection was more painful than being slapped. I may be rather… lecherous …but I still have feelings.

I must confess, I have always wanted children. Not for the sake of passing on the cursed legacy but for the sake of being a father. Passing through the villages on my journeys, partially to hunt down Naraku, partially to find someone who would be willing to deal with the heavy burden of birthing a cursed child, I couldn't help but feel jealous of the warm emotions I would see in a father's eyes as he picked up his young son, swinging him into the air, or as he would kindly accept a frail but pretty weed that looked so like a rose in the mind of his precious daughter. I wanted the joy, the laughter that children would bring. I wanted the warm home with the futon for two, me and my dearly beloved wife, whoever she would be, and all the children that went with it. I wanted to labor all day in the sun and come home at night to a good meal and tuck my children into their futons and kiss my wife and sleep.

"Oh lovely girl, would you do me the honor of-uh…"

Shriek!

"Get your hands off 'er!"

Oops, looks like I let my hands wander again – I had only just noticed something soft in my palm a moment before the shriek pierced my thoughts and I was promptly throttled by the offended woman's brother.

Sometimes I was worried that, should I find a willing recipient of my affections, and we had children, that perhaps I wouldn't get to be around to enjoy them, any of them. It made me more reluctant to stay around when I actually heard a yes. I might fool around some but I never followed through. I wanted the home life. I desired the home life. I would dream of the day I would get married, have an actual ceremony with a happy feast, of staying at home with the family I would have, of watching my children grow and have children of their own. I wanted to grow old with my wife.

But, as always, such wishes were denied me.

"Sweet maid, if you do care for me, would you bear my child?"

"You kidding me, right?"

I would mess around with geishas – they do not have children, they are supposed to remain as maids always, providing entertainment. That's what they do, provide entertainment – they are not always the sinful sort of girls that my dear friends seem to frown at the prospect of my meeting. We dance, we sing, we carry on, drinking lots of sake and eating lots of food before falling down in a blissfully drunken sleep. Again I can't help but think that if a maid would just say yes at once to my proposal I would probably run as if the very devil were at my heels. Could I really see her as an appropriate mother for my child? I think not.

"Ah, dear girl, I can tell from what I have read on your palm that you are to be blessed with many children! Would you, perhaps, consider bearing one for me?"

"Ha ha ha ha ha! Oh houshi-sama!"

The sort of woman I want as the mother of my children would have to be strong, would have to be kind, respectable, honorable. She'd have to be wise, be able to take care of herself and them. She'd have to be able to instruct them, not just in scholarly things but in the ways of the world, how it works and how it should work. She would need to be dependable – reliable – she would have to loving and caring and be able to put up with me. Oh, and she'd have to let me cook sometimes – I discovered some time back that I like to cook (and play with Kagome-sama's matches, but that's another story.)

…And she'd also have to be rather easy on the eyes.

So…

"Honorable maiden, would you bear my child?"

~Owari~

Eh… Just a little piece from Miroku's camp. Whaddya think?

AN: I wrote this late at night when I couldn't sleep not long after I had gotten my wisdom teeth (all five of 'em) removed. I had no idea that I wrote this until I found it on a black floppy disk the other day (why I had out one of my black floppies, I dunno, I usually use them for backing up stuff.) I'm not entirely certain if the medicine was affecting me. My writing doesn't seem totally coherent in this fic but I like it and, after cleaning up a couple of spelling errors, I'll post it for you to see in all it's original glory (besides, now I know why I kept having the feeling that one of my sample fics seemed so familiar to me.)


	18. Five in human terms

* * *

Five in human terms

…

an Inuyasha fanfiction _by_ mkh2

* * *

Disclaimer: Yup. Here I am with another one-shot. Another Inuyasha one-shot. So… is it obvious yet that Inuyasha doesn't belong to me? After all, if I owned Inuyasha, I'd be pretty busy working on it right now and not this. So, just to clarify things, I'll state this just real fast: Inuyasha does not belong to me but instead to Rumiko Takahashi, wonderful person that she art… (No pun intended – Tippy laughed at the art thing and said, "Think you're being _punny_?" Grr… so she used one of my stupid lines on me. How rude.) Where doth she art? She art in Japan, a-yup yup yup.

* * *

I was five, in human terms, anyways. Okay, I was also five in human years. I was five all around.

So, naturally, being five, it hurt when my mother died. It hurt that she died and I suddenly found myself all alone in the world. My father had died before I ever had the chance to get to know him. I was barely old enough to take care of myself when my mother died. My elder brother, for reasons unknown to me at the time, hated my very being, but at least he didn't try to outright kill me, preferring to just not acknowledge my existence.

Which hurt since I was only five.

My mother had only just been given her burial, which, I might add, was quite a lovely procession, considering that, despite her having been mated to an inu-tai-youkai, was still a much beloved daughter of some humans of noble breeding and was thus still highly ranked in the courts… where was I? My mother was only just recently cremated and enshrined in the funeral grounds of her, our, _her_ most noble family, when I was run out of the only home I had known, left to fend for myself. I knew some of the basics at the time, cleaning, basic feeding, how to hide myself away during the new moon, you _know_, the _basics_, but I didn't know how to defend myself, how to hunt, how to… socialize. Naturally I had tried in my old home, my mother's home, but I was shunned, though I hadn't known why. All I knew was that when I asked mother why they called me hanyou she had wept silently and held me tightly to her bosom. Mother had a lovely scent.

I had stood near the village silently for a day, wondering what I could have possibly done to warrant my immediate removal from my home, before I turned and left. And ran. And ran and ran and ran. It wasn't until I had left the safe harbor of mother's village that I had found out what youkai _were_… and what _I_ was.

I was scared, frightened out of my wits. I ran blindly, aimlessly, hiding and sneaking and burrowing and using and doing every thing and trick I could think of to get away from my youkai pursuers and not get maimed, killed, eaten… or worse. To youkai, I was the lowest of the low, filth that was not worthy to wipe the scum from their feet after traipsing through a stagnant, foul bog for a month. I was lower than a ningen; a half-breed, a _hanyou_, the lowest of the _lowest_ of the low, bred from the joining of youkai and ningen, half-blood, a smear on the youkai and ningen races alike. I was an oddity. I was hanyou, and thus would always be an oddity, a hated outcast.

I longed to become a youkai and never have to live in such horrid fear again.

Months passed. Mother's death still stung though as I never had the chance to properly mourn, living in fear and always on the run tends to put things out of your mind, whether or not you want it to be so. I came across several villages and hoped they would take me in, but none had. Then, as I had said, months had passed, and for a moment I thought I had found a safe haven.

She was an old woman, not much older than Kaede-baba is now, for sure, with a lively twinkle in her eye and a bounce in her step. She had a younger sister who always watched me wearily and always seemed to shuffle sideways in the direction that would bring her the farthest away from me. She never contradicted her sister though, about her decision to let me stay and for that I was grateful.

If only the rest of the villagers were as lenient.

"It's a horrible beast! It's a monster! We must drive it away quickly before the gods strike us down!"

"Don't be so foolish – surely your life will be cursed and your sister's life will be cursed for harboring such a foul demonic wraith!"

But the old woman was firm and set in her ways. She let me stay till she passed on. When she was under the ground for a week the woman's younger sister gave me some rice balls in a piece of cloth and bade me go in her usual crotchety voice, though this time with a pitying look at me – she fell quite easily to the villagers calls but was respectful of her sister enough to wait that amount of time before sending me off.

Ningen were kinder than youkai; this was a strange truth that I learned quickly. I would have thought that youkai would be more kind to me – I had comparable looks and abilities, though it should be obvious that I was in no way a threat to them. Instead humans had a softer heart and were more likely to leave me be – true, perhaps they'd run me away from a village or yell words at me, but I never truly had to fear physical harm from them.

Except for those like miko or houshi or taijiya.

And not even then not usually… The old woman was a miko and I soon learned that if I made myself as unthreatening as possible they might let me pass through in peace and sometimes even spend my human night near their grounds, not that I actually let them know it was my human night… When I would spend my human night at a village, I would wait till I had already turned, and even then most miko or houshi would notice that I was not quite human – one said that it was the eyes that made me a suspicious one.

"He reminds me of a tanuki I once knew…"

"It's evil! We should get rid of it!"

"Not all youkai are evil! There was this one kitsune I played with as a child…"

"And kitsune are horrid, fearful creatures!"

"It is true that kitsune are mischievous, but there is nothing to fear from them so long as you don't break a promise to them…"

That was the sort of babble I'd hear from the villagers when I'd get caught. Usually I was let go without much fuss; sometimes I was given a treat – a rice ball, maybe, often a fish – and bade to go. Then there were times I just had to make a break for it and hope for the best, though, looking back at those frightening moments, I truly had nothing to fear. Humans were afraid of me, at least sometimes they were, but they wouldn't have hurt me. Sometimes I think it was because I reminded them of a harmless, often friendly, type of youkai, but more often I think I reminded them of an even more harmless child they knew.

After all, I was only five, in human terms.

= Owari =

* * *

I had written this in early February… heh, took me long enough to post this, didn't it?

-

Youkai: demon, though not necessarily in the Christian sense.

Ningen: human, I used it interchangeably with the English word "human" as I saw fit.

Hanyou: half-breed/half-blood/half-youkai/half-demon; usually, a person born of youkai and human parentage where his/her blood is exactly half-youkai.

Miko: a priestess, Shinto/Buddhist; a young girl who takes care of shrine grounds; a virgin girl.

Houshi: a priest, Shinto/Buddhist; of higher ranking than a _bouzo_, which, though meaning a priest of a lower ranking than a houshi, could also simply mean a young man.

Taijiya: demon exterminators; a reference to the village of demon exterminators that Sango is from.

Kitsune: fox; often used alone to refer to fox demons in general.

Tanuki: a type of wild dog with raccoon markings found predominately in Japan, usually referred to as "raccoon" or "raccoon-dog"; often used alone to refer to "raccoon" demons in general.

inu-tai-youkai: a reference to Inuyasha's father, a dog demon of high ranking, the previous Lord of the Western Lands; no name has officially been given to him.

-baba: old hag; or, a rude way of saying old granny; should probably use "-ba-chan" in its stead.

I had had the idea for this piece quite some time ago, after watching the episode with the bat-hanyou girl whom Inuyasha helped save – there were some flashbacks to his childhood where he had been chased down by youkai. I recalled in another episode that while he had been snubbed by some humans as a child he had never been hit by them – they all looked to be of noble blood or at least of a high-rank in society; his mother looked to be of high-caliber as well and that is probably why none of those humans raised a hand to him. However, Kikyo didn't try to really hurt him, and supposedly many miko and houshi would take in orphan youkai that were similar to kitsune or tanuki, mischievous, fun-loving tricksters who could be dangerous (especially so in the kitsune case if you willingly broke a promise to them – you'd earn yourself a horrible life-long enemy if you did) but were generally good-natured.

I also often wondered why Inuyasha was as kind to Kaede as he was in the beginning when Yura of the Hair first struck. He had no obvious attachments to her and the "guilt" he had about Kikyo's death probably wasn't strong enough to let him take care of her after he garnered the information he needed to defeat the enemy and retrieve the shards – if he wanted to reside near the village he could have simply said he wasn't able to save her, she bled to death or was caught on more hair or something – instead he went out of his way and took the time to ensure her safety. I figured that he must have at least some small soft-spot for the elderly but I still decided to cut out this one line: "She was one of the reasons that I have a soft spot for the elderly, not that I'd ever make it admit, so I try to hide my affections for them." It came after the line "She was an old woman, not much older than Kaede-baba is now, for sure, with a lively twinkle in her eye and a bounce in her step."


	19. Wish

* * *

Wish

* * *

            What I want more than anything is to have Kagome by my side, always. That the well would remain open to us always so that she and I could travel freely from one time to another as always, eating ramen and traveling the land.

            A selfish wish.

            I would like Kikyo to come back to life, for her to have that chance at life that she was deprived of or for her to be reinstated as village miko. I would like her to have that life she was denied.

            Also a selfish wish.

            I guess all that is left is to ask that Kikyo find her peace in death. I will miss her and think of her but it is wrong to make her stay here and exist on the energy of dead girl's souls or to be selfish and have her come back to life – a life I couldn't be a part of because I couldn't look at her without seeing _her_.

            "I wish…"

            A bright light blinds me and when I can see next my hand is empty of the Shikon no Tama – the necklace remains but the jewel is gone and I worry a little.

            "It's gone."

            I look at Kagome and my heart catches in the back of my throat, making me swallow the last breath uncomfortably. I feel slightly at ease now and relax once my breathing is back to normal. The jewel is gone. I panic.

            The wish… what had I wished for? What was done to make the jewel disappear? I didn't know.

            "Is it?"

            "Yes."

            We look at each other from where we stood, on opposite sides of the well and then we both move. We skirt slowly around the well and hold on to each other, just holding and praying that everything is all right now.

            "What was your wish?" her voice wafts over me, gentle like her scent.

            "I'm not sure." I can feel her frown against me neck.

            "What do you mean?"

            "I mean… I was thinking about what I should wish for but before I actually made my wish it disappeared."

            "Oh."

            We stood there for a while longer before she pulled out of my arms and faced the well.

            "Should we check the well?"

            "No!" It came out in a burst. I couldn't help it. I was nervous, panicky. What if the well accepted her now but wouldn't let her come back after she made it back to her time? I don't think I could take it.

            "Please – let's try it together?" She looked up into my eyes and I realized she was as nervous as I. "We'll hold hands or… you can take me in your arms and take us both down. I won't go without you, not if I can help it."

            I swallow heavily. It wouldn't be right to deprive her of her life in her time so… after a while… I agree.

            I held her tight to me before scooping her up under her knees. I look her deep in the eyes before pressing my lips to hers, feeling her press back, and I jump.

            I kept my eyes tightly closed, almost painfully. I could feel tears eke out of the corners of my eyes… and we touch down. She's still in my arms, eyes closed and cheeks pink as a posy.

            "Hey."

            "Hey."

            We look up.

            Oh. We're in her time.

            One jump and we're out of the well.

            One bound and we're at the door. One step and…

            "Tadaima!"

= Owari =

* * *

**AN:**  Hmm, this piece was written in April… a little bit before I had last updated then. Guess I couldn't find it when I went to post, so here it is now for your reading pleasure. Or displeasure. Either way, it's here for you, the viewer, to read.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Inuyasha. 'Nuff said.


End file.
